Feet of the Snake
by changclaire5
Summary: a continuation of 'Name of the Rose'. A late night encounter turned Severus Snape's world upside down, now he has to make a choice. This story will not make much sense if you haven't read 'Name of the Rose' first. Contains MM.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Feet of the Snake 1

**Author:** changclaire5

**Pairing:** Snape/Harry, Snape/other

**Rating:** R

**Summary:** a continuation of "Name of the Rose", how does Snape cope with the revelation?

**Archive:** Please ask first. Thank you.

**Disclaimer:** These characters belong to Rowling, not me, and I'm not making any money off of this.

**Beta:**accioslash

**Author's Note:** This is my attempt at continuing the story "Name of the Rose", a little scene that stuck in my head and demanded to be written. After finishing "Name of the Rose", I started thinking, what happens next? And this is my answer. Since IMHO "Name of the Rose" is just fine by itself, I fear that this story will do nothing but ruining the effect brought on by its prequel. Thus the title "Feet of the Snake" - In a Chinese fable story, a painter drew a very life like snake and won people's praise left and right. He was elated and wanted to make the painting even better, so he added some very nice feet on to the body of the snake, thus ruining the painting, since it's not a snake anymore. Therefore, please don't read it if you liked "Name of the Rose" and think it's best left as is (as I do). The title might also gain some additional meaning as the story progresses.

I wake up to the searing pain in my left forearm. After hastily pulling on the clothes, I grab the hated black cloak and white mask from the hidden drawer in my dresser, and rush out. Harry is in the sitting room, sipping tea while reading a huge tome, quill in hand and pieces of parchment scattered all over the table. He raises his head, smiling, "Good morning, Se..." Then he sees the items in my hand and the smile disappears. He looks worried.

"I thought the meeting was not until this evening."

"Yes, but I'm being summoned now. Please let the Headmaster know."

I am about to open the door when Harry catches me from behind, spins me around, hugs me tightly for a long moment before shoving me away with a quiet "Be careful, all right?".

"I will be."

It is right before I hurry past the Hogwarts anti-apparition wards when I remember what happened last night. But I don't have time to dwell upon that. The Dark Lord's summons are best dealt with as much alacrity as possible, if one cares about ones continuing health, that is.

Letting the burning Dark Mark be my guide, I Apparate to the entrance of a big chamber, empty except for the one tall and skeletal figure standing in the middle. A sliver of unease settles in the bottom of my stomach. I have never been summoned alone right before a planned Death Eater meeting. It can only mean one of two things: either the Dark Lord has some urgent errands for me to run that cannot wait until after the meeting, or he desires my information and input on something that needs to be resolved before the meeting tonight. Both possibilities are unusual and likely signify a change of plans. This does not bode well for the battle strategy the Order has devised so far, as it heavily relies upon the predicted execution of several Death Eater raids that have been planned for the last month. However, pondering the potential complications does me no good at this point. I carefully occlude my mind and approach the dark figure of my old Master.

"Severus." The Dark Lord acknowledges my presence.

I kneel down, prostrate myself before him, kiss the hem of his pristine robe, and murmur: "My Master. I come to serve."

He turns around, walks to the only chair in the room and sits down. I notice the chair is in the centre of the chamber, with some very intricate pattern of runes on the floor surrounding it. The pattern is wholly unfamiliar to me, although I recognize some of the runes as the ones often used in advanced divination. Regretfully, I am no expert in that specialty.

My preoccupation with the rune pattern did not go undetected. The Dark Lord gives a low chuckle, "I see you've noticed my latest attempt at expanding my knowledge of the future, Severus. But come, we've much to discuss." He points to a spot right beside his feet.

"Forgive me, Master." I prostrate even lower on the floor for several seconds more to show remorse at my distraction, before crawling toward him on all fours. The spot he allowed me indicates that he wishes for me to kneel down beside him instead of standing up.

I feel the magic in the air like thousands of tiny needles as I get closer to the patterned floor surrounding the chair. But I dare not stop, nor even hesitate. When my left palm all too soon touches the runes, a blazing pain like nothing I've ever experienced shoots up my arm and spreads to my whole body in a split second. My mind grays out. But before I can snatch my hand away from the runes, or even scream, the pain dulls to a manageable level, and centers itself on my left forearm, where the Dark Mark lies. An eerie sense of warmth suffuses my body not a second later and sends a shiver up my arms and down my body, all the way to my toes. I stop and gasp, trying my hardest not to back away, but cannot make myself move forward one more inch.

"Come." The Dark Lord commands again, this time with steel in his voice. I have no choice but to obey. To my intense relief, the pain does not reappear, although the warmth intensifies gradually, heats up my insides and makes my whole body tremble uncontrollably. By the time I reach the Dark Lord, who is no more than five meters away from the perimeter of the rune circle, I am panting rather quickly and my arms and legs can hardly support me anymore. I kiss his hem again, and wait.

I do not have long to wait. "Well done, Severus. No one but the most loyal to me may pass that barrier and remain alive." He chuckles then, "and the barrier lets you feel according to your expectation from your Master, only much intensified. I wonder what you want from me, what you are feeling now, hmm?"

Cool and slightly scaly fingers touch my chin and lift it up. I blank my mind, focusing all my thoughts on the warmth in the center of my being that's becoming almost unbearably hot. The red tinged eyes look into mine, and I force myself not to look away. A moment later, the red eyes widen a fraction followed by a throaty laugh, so unlike the high-pitched voices the Dark Lord has these days. "My, my, Severus, sometimes you do surprise me."

"Forgive me, my Lord, I did not …"

"No matter, I enjoy knowing people's motives, especially ones like that." He leers, "However, this will have to wait. I summoned you here for a reason. Come with me, I see you will not be able to focus here."

He stands up and extends one hand to me. I kiss it reverently before taking it lightly in my hand and letting him pull me up. As tall as I am, the Dark Lord is still two inches taller. I release his hand, back up a step, and bow low to him. The heat in my body is making me dizzy, and each touch I receive from him is making the fire burn even brighter. He chuckles again, turns around and walks out of the circle of runes. I harden my resolve and follow him two steps behind, as befits a servant of the Dark Lord. Exiting the circle, surprisingly, does not cause me any pain. And I breathe more freely when the heat starts to subside soon after.

I am almost back to myself when the Dark Lord leads me out of the big chamber and into a small office of some sorts. He bids me to sit down on an austere chair with a straight back and I obey, hiding my nervousness as best I can. He paces around for a bit, then stops in front of me. "Severus, what can you tell me about the Order's movements lately?"

I try to slip down and kneel before him but he stops me with a gesture and indicates I should sit. I obey. I choose my words very carefully. "My Lord, the Order is still trying to regroup after our last raids. Dumbledore is putting much on defense of the Ministry now. He expects an attack very soon, since that's what I informed him our next move would be. All of the Order members that work at the Ministry were told to lay low and simply observe, and be ready to either help to defend the Ministry or to evacuate whenever Dumbledore calls for it. About half of the non-Ministry members are going undercover for around-the-clock surveillance of the Ministry main building as well as the important outposts – the Auror stations, the administrative offices and so on. Every hit wizard and hit witch in the order has a portkey on their person and was told to be constantly on alert. The portkeys will activate and transport them to the site of conflict within one minute of Dumbledore activating his master key and sending out the alert signal. He hopes to overwhelm us when the attack happens. The Order is keeping all of this as quiet as possible, as they still want to protect my cover." I let a thin sneer appear on my face. "Unfortunately, that also precluded me from obtaining a portkey myself."

"Hmmm, what of the other half of the Order members who are not at the Ministry?"

"Some have their own work to do. All the teachers at Hogwarts have the standing order to protect the school and the students at all costs should it come under attack. George and Fred Weasley are leading a research team of about ten Order members. They are trying to develop an edible shield and reflection charm for the less able or injured member of the Order. They are also very close to producing a portable invisibility dome. Everyone is excited about the dome, as supposedly it will be able to cover up to fifty people and allow them to evacuate a building under attack. Since the dome doesn't deflect any curses and hexes thrown at it and a simple revelation charm will render it useless, I am not too worried about it. It is only useful if we didn't know about this already. Lupin is out there in the wild trying to recruit some stray werewolves, with less spectacular results, I'm happy to say. Hagrid and Maxime are still not giving up on the giants, but as my Master well knows, their effort was doomed from the beginning."

"Very well. How about Harry Potter? What is he been up to?"

I pause, trying to collect my thoughts. "Potter is still under training. He still refuses to learn Dark Arts even though Dumbledore urges him to at least get to know the principles, if not the application. The brat said he doesn't want to be tainted by darkness and he believes that Light would prevail eventually. I encourage him by showing my fear of Dark Arts and my attraction to the "pure Light" that he represents, but I'm careful not to counter Dumbledore directly." I smirk just a little. "He will not be included in any of the defense movements of the Order unless he is under direct attack. Dumbledore believes him still not ready to face you, my Master. Not yet."

The Dark Lord continues his slow pacing, not acknowledging my report. I stop myself from squirming on the uncomfortable chair and follow his movement with my eyes deferentially lowered so I only see his shiny boots and the hem of his swishing robes.

Those boots finally stop in front of me. The Dark Lord does not speak, and I cannot help but tremble slightly under his undoubtedly piercing stare. After several seconds, I cave in and slide down to kneel before him, head lowered. This time he lets me. My heart thunders and I can almost taste the fear on my palate. What is wrong, does he suspect?

"Anything else you wish your Master to know?"

A few beads of sweat break out on my forehead and I think furiously. What else? What else? Nothing much has happened since the last meeting, and nothing that concerns my spying task in the order at all. Unless…

I let my voice falter a little, to show my nervousness. Not that I need to pretend much. "I beg your forgiveness, my Master. I did not wish to concern you with my petty thoughts in this. I overheard a conversation between Dumbledore and Potter last night. Turns out I didn't seduce Potter successfully after all, as we all thought was the case. Dumbledore actually ordered Potter to bed me to ensure my loyalty to the Order, and Potter has been keeping an eye on me ever since. I'm only glad that I did not let slip any indication of my true loyalty. I was unsettled however, and did not sleep well last night. I wish to extract my revenge from Potter for cheating me, if my Master permits, of course. I was not going to bring this up until we have Potter in our hands, but since my ever perceptive Master…"

He interrupts me. "What did you have in mind for revenge?"

I let my mind wander, what I would like for revenge indeed. I inject a little sadistic touch into my voice, "I would like to have Potter at my beck and call, Master. I would like for him to suffer long and hard, to beg for death every day but have it never granted, my Master."

The Dark Lord does not speak immediately. Did I presume too much? Did I reveal something that is best kept unknown? Did I give him some indication that I'm not to be trusted? My nervousness grows by the second until he starts talking again. "I've had a vision this morning using an altered _Posterus Fidelis_. Do you know about _Posterus Fidelis_?"

"No, my Master, you are most knowledgeable…"

"Yes, yes. Well, _Posterus Fidelis_ is the most advanced divination technique. Or it used to be. It is a combination of rune magic and charm work. _Posterus Fidelis_ fell out of use nine hundred years ago as it was considered Dark Arts and was prohibited. It involved the most intricate wand movements I'd ever practiced. It also required the caster to devise his own rune pattern based on his purpose of knowing the future. Incidentally, I also designed the runes to test my followers at the same time, as you've already experienced."

I hear the slight smile in the Dark Lord's voice without seeing it, and repress a shudder. "Thank you, my Lord, for enlightening me. May I enquire as to what my Master saw as the future?"

"It was not as clear as I wished for and I might need to revise my rune pattern a trifle. But one thing was clear: Harry Potter lived in my vision. He lived in the future! So I asked myself, how? How can it be that Harry Potter would live if I were to win the war? And then I thought, how can I not win the war, unless someone in my Death Eater ranks betrayed me?"

"My Master! Never…" I cry out, my heart suddenly in my throat.

"Severus, be silent!"

I fall silent, but cannot prevent myself from stealing a glance of the face of the Dark Lord. He does not seem to be very angry, and I calm down a little. I reinforce the barrier in my mind, just in case.

The Dark Lord continues with a hint of satisfaction in his high-pitched voice. "So I summoned you and questioned you about the Order business, hoping to gain some insight into the possibility of a potential traitor. I was disappointed. I thought I must have missed something, something that will lead me to the traitor. I asked you again. Imagine my pleasure when I heard about your little revenge plan against Harry Potter. Now I know why Harry Potter will live, my dear Severus, for I will grant your wish to pay Potter back for his treachery. You shall have Harry Potter as your personal slave once the war is over."

I gasp. "My Master! Thank you, my Master! You are most generous!" I try to put some gratitude and excitement into my voice but cannot be certain I succeeded.

The Dark Lord seems to be in a jovial mood and does not notice. "Come, there is still time before the meeting. I should like to relax a little."


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** **Feet of the Snake (2?)**

**Author:** changclaire5  
**Pairing:** Snape/Harry, Snape/other?  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** a continuation of "Name of the Rose", how does Snape cope with the revelation?  
**Archive:** Please ask first. Thank you.  
**Disclaimer:** These characters belong to Rowling, not me, and I'm not making any money off of this.

**Beta: **the wonderful accioslash

The night air is fresh and fragrant. That is the first thing I notice after Apparating back from the meeting. Hogwarts lies dark and quiet in the distance, only a handful of windows are still lazily spilling out the blinking candle lights. It's after midnight, after all. I recognize the ones that belong to the Headmaster's office. So Albus is still up, most likely anxious to hear my report. Although it cannot be seen from where I stand, I know the lights in my dungeon quarters are still on as well. Harry has never failed to wait up for me after a meeting, no matter how late I came back from them. My routine in the last two years, ever since Harry moved in, is to go directly to Albus' office, give him a terse report, and immediately retire to my quarters to let Harry soothe me to a dreamless sleep. Details can wait until the next day when I would be more rested and alert. Tonight, however, for the first time in years, I want to be alone.

I walk into the Forbidden Forest, just deep enough so that a casual passer-by will not be able to see me. I take off the heavy black robe and the mask, shrink the mask, stow it in a side pocket of the robe, and spread the robe on the ground beside a thick tree trunk. Suppressing a grimace, I sit down on the robe and lean my back against the tree. My encounter with the Dark Lord alone earlier today is like an unwelcome ghost in my mind, lurking in the shadows, occasionally swooping through me without warning and causing me to shudder. I work to banish that ghost, shooing it deep into the recess of my mind, leaving out only the discussion about the _Posterus Fidelis_. I would as soon _Obliviate_ myself of the whole episode, but Albus needs to be warned about this new development. If the Dark Lord manages to perfect it, he might foresee our surprise attack planned two weeks hence. I shudder to consider the potential consequences. He could also discover my treachery. I wonder idly if it's a good thing or a bad thing. After a while, I decide the question is not worth my time. Another unwelcome thought occurs to me and I swallow. What if the _Posterus Fidelis_ was actually successful and the Dark Lord already knew everything? I mentally go through the entire encounter with him today, including the Death Eater assembly tonight. Was he merely playing with me? Surely I couldn't have survived the _Posterus Fidelis _circle if only his faithful were supposed to pass it? Did he make a mistake or did he simply lie to me about the runes to mess up my mind? I feel a headache coming on and decide to let Dumbledore worry about this. My mind is messed up enough already; it doesn't need to be tormented by further uncertainties.

The Death Eater meeting was easily the most boring one I've attended this year. Nobody died crawling past the rune circle, no one failed to complete their task or give a satisfactory report, and none were hit by _Cruciatus_. The Dark Lord was pleased with the progress we've made. A concerted attack of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade by Death Eaters, werewolves, dementors and giants will take place on time as planned at the next full moon. I imagine the Headmaster will be satisfied too, as it seems that a last minute change of plans will not be needed. Will part of his satisfaction be based on the expectation that his golden child can soon be reunited with his true love, instead of being tied down by his wayward and untrustworthy Potions-Master-come-spy? A small lump forms in my throat and I cough to clear it. It serves no purpose to dwell in the past. My priority is to prepare for war, for my last bid toward freedom. Everything else can wait until after that.

I stand up with difficulty. My limbs are still too shaky from this afternoon's experience. No, I will not think about that! Slowly, I shake off the twigs and leaves from the robe, fold it carefully and carry it with me inside the castle.

Albus is indeed still waiting for me. The golden lights spilling out from under his door into the dark stone corridor have always helped me to relax and even warm up a bit every time I return from a meeting. They fail to do so today.

I knock. The door swings open before my knuckles make contact with it for the second time.

"Severus." The Headmaster looks his age now, and is looking more tired than ever before. War does that to people. He is sitting behind his huge and cluttered desk, the blasted twinkles still firmly in place.

"Headmaster." I acknowledge, and step inside. The door closes itself noiselessly behind me. I take a seat in front of the desk, put the folded robe at my feet, and clear my mind of all stray thoughts that I do not wish to discuss tonight.

Dumbledore looks at me closely and frowns. "Are you alright, Severus? You look dreadfully pale. Should we postpone this until tomorrow? "

"I'm fine, no need to fuss." I snap. He doesn't appear to believe me. Hardly surprising. I hide my bitter smile.

"Then lets finish this up quickly so you can go rest. You look tired." He pours me a cup of tea, adds a liberal amount of sugar in it, and forces me to take it by levitating it directly in front of my face. I grab the handle of the cup and take a sip. The hot and sweet liquid actually calms me down somewhat. I wonder, not for the first time if, as rumor has it, he indeed adds a calming draught to his tea. I swallow another mouthful.

"The Dark Lord is dabbling into old forbidden Divination spells now." I start without preamble. "What can you tell me about _Posterus Fidelis_?"

Dumbledore frowns again, deeper this time. He is silent for a long minute, no doubt trying to dredge up old memories. I stare at his beard. Is it possible to have one's beard turn whiter when it's already completely white?

He starts slowly. "_Posterus Fidelis_, if I remember correctly, is a branch of Divination using dark art methods. It is old magic that has been forgotten. I don't believe I've seen any reference to it in books written later than the fifteenth century. Is Voldemort trying to find such a reference?"

I bit back a bitter laugh. I am still reminded now and then why I joined the Dark Lord in the first place. Aside from acceptance, a sense of belonging, of being cared for, the Dark Lord also offered knowledge, knowledge beyond even Dumbledore's grasp. Knowledge that he alone could teach us. "No, the Dark Lord has rediscovered it already, he only needs to perfect it. In fact, he's already tried it this morning."

Dumbledore looks alarmed, as well he should. "What did he do? What did he see in the future?"

I sigh, massaging the bridge of my nose. "I don't know the details, Headmaster. But he told me that he saw some vague images, including one in which Harry was still alive. That was the reason he summoned me earlier. He thought there might be a traitor in our rank. By pure luck, I convinced him that Potter could be kept as a slave in the future, so his being alive doesn't automatically mean our defeat."

"What else did he see?"

"He didn't elaborate. But he seemed satisfied with my explanation. So I would assume that whatever he saw must not be clear enough, yet, to alert him to our plan. He said he would try to modify the runes to see better."

"Runes?"

"Yes, he mentioned that _Posterus Fidelis_ was done with a combination of the rune magic with some complicated charms work. He had to tailor the rune pattern to fit his needs. The rune pattern he devised covered a good portion of the floor in a fairly big chamber. The pattern was very complicated. I hardly recognized a third of the runes. I will put my memory of it into your Pensieve tomorrow if you think that'll help."

"Thank you, Severus, that could be very helpful."

"Yes, well, other than that, nothing of much significance happened. You'll be happy to know that the Dark Lord now has his mind firmly set on the attack at next full moon. I trust we will be ready at Hogwarts?"

"We will, Severus. With your help, Harry and our Order will prevail once again. I'm confident about that." His voice is low and determined. I hope wholeheartedly that he's correct in that.

"I bid you good night then, Headmaster. I have a full schedule tomorrow." I gulp down the rest of the tea and stand up.

"Very well. Shall we meet tomorrow during lunch break to discuss the details?" He stands up as well.

"As you wish. Good night, Headmaster."

"Good night, my boy. Pleasant dreams."

I halt the door before it closes behind me, "Oh, Headmaster, you should be aware that the Dark Lord also designed the runes to test the loyalty of his followers. I had the honor to be the first one to pass the test."

With those last words, I turn and walk away. The door closes with a thud behind me. I smile grimly.

The walk back to my rooms is uneventful. There are no students breaking curfew to snog in the shadow of statues and no overheard conversations that I would rather forget. With a muttered password, I enter the rooms I now share with The-Boy-Who-Lived. The rooms I considered my refuge until last night.

The lights are still on, so I see Harry immediately. He is sitting in his favorite oversized armchair facing the door, sound asleep. A huge tome lays open on his knees. I stare at him, the man I've loved for almost three years. Even with the ugly old-fashioned glasses askew, the tiredness written all over his face and dark shadows under his eyes clearer than ever, he is still handsome. The dark and messy mop on top of his head belies the soft and springy hair that is so pleasing to run my fingers through. The long and slightly curly eyelashes cast a shifty shadow on his pale cheek. Two rosy lips are full and moist, opened slightly in sleep. And the strong chin juts out minutely, just enough to remind me of its owner's pride and stubbornness. Yes, to my eyes, Harry Potter is still a very handsome man indeed.

I sigh quietly. Pity that we are not to be. I go to the washroom and spend some time cleaning myself. Will I ever be truly clean again? I force myself to think of the classes tomorrow, the potions I need to prepare for the Order and the Dark Lord. One step at a time, I remind myself, one step at a time. I finish washing, put on a nightshirt, and go back to get Harry.

He starts awake when I put my hand on his shoulder. "Severus, you are back!" He is instantly alert. I wonder if it's my safety he's worried about, or the information I came back with.

"Obviously."

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Why did he summon you early?"

"I'm unharmed. Let's go get some rest. We can talk about the details of the meeting with Albus tomorrow at lunch time."

"Okay." He agrees readily. He is always most considerate after a meeting.

He follows me into the bedroom. I get into bed, turn to face away from his side and firmly shut my eyes. Within seconds, he sheds his dressing gown, extinguishes the lights and slides in beside me. He squirms to get closer, flings an arm and a leg over me and hugs me closer. His familiar warmth seeps through our nightshirts. I feel just the tiny bit better, and relax a little.

"Sorry I fell asleep on you again. Did you go prowl the castle last night? I waited for you, but got too sleepy in the end. That was a long prowl, wasn't it? Did you at least catch some curfew-breakers? Dish out some detentions? I remember this one time when Ron and Hermione…." He keeps mumbling away, about things that are so trivial that no one but him would remember. His lips move against my nightshirt-covered shoulder, warming that spot further. I listen halfheartedly. Gradually, I relax some more. Before I fall asleep, I hear a sleepy "I love you, you know." Do I? I give no reply.


End file.
